He remembered coming here often, to Han River, nursing a bad case of hangover, depressed over another break-up. He would sit here for hours end, not doing anything at all. This place had a strangely calming effect on him.

But I never dreamed I’d come here with him…

He had been nervous as he sat down on the grass beside Myungsoo. It was like a first date with someone you really, really like and you’re trying not to mess anything up. He had rehearsed everything he had wanted to say to Myungsoo last night but he couldn’t remember anything now. It was all a jumbled mess in his head and he just couldn’t calm his heart down.

Since he couldn’t remember what he had practiced, he had decided to wing it. Myungsoo seemed prepared to listen and every time he replied with “I forgive you,” his heart had felt lighter. He was probably getting off easy, without having to answer anything or explain anything, but it didn’t matter. As long as Myungsoo knew how apologetic and sincere he actually was, it was alright.

But this Myungsoo was a whole new person compared to the intimidating boss he had been introduced to. It was good to see him smile – it was like watching the same person from eight-years’ back.  The daunting boss was gone; the soulless eyes were filled with emotions once again.

This made him realize that even though he loved the elder no matter what, he loved this tender, sweeter version more.

When he had told him about how he had taken him off as Minho’s model, he had been surprised and relieved. He had never thought Myungsoo would take such drastic measures to keep him away from Minho based on jealousy. But it wasn’t just jealousy, was it? It had probably come from a sense of protectiveness, knowing that he wouldn’t always be there to save him if something were to happen.

In no way had he wanted to be the reason Minho’s career was ruined – so when the elder had reassured him that the executive editor would have other chances in the future to work with other models, he had breathed out in relief. If it had been otherwise, he would have begged Myungsoo to give Minho another chance. Because despite what he had done at the party, before that, he had helped Sungjong to carry on, constantly supporting him.

I owe him something.

In all honesty, he was glad that he didn’t have to keep working with the executive editor. Even though the man had apologized for his behavior at the party and promised to keep his hands off of him, he hadn’t felt assured. There was just something about the man he couldn’t trust anymore. He wasn’t necessarily a bad person, but maybe he needed his relationships to be physical. There was nothing wrong with it; only, he didn’t like it to be that. Of course he had been holding back for Myungsoo and even though he hadn’t verbally communicated it to him, he had expected him to understand.

But that was one issue that was past him. He had let the executive editor know very clearly not to wait for him. So right now, all his focus was on the man he was lying down beside.

As he got ready to slay the last demon, he felt his voice catch his throat. He had never really properly apologized to Myungsoo for his betrayal or whatever it had been. Yes, he had been young and stupid, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t done something terrible. This would be the first time he would be speaking to the elder about it and he didn’t know how to phrase his apology.

How can I say it so that he truly understands how sorry I am?

In broken words, he tried to express himself but Myungsoo stopped him before he could finish. Instead, he gave him an opportunity to make it up to him. He listened eagerly, because he would do anything to redeem himself.

“The greatest gift you could give me is by being by my side. I love you like no one has ever loved anyone before. I love you Sungjong, and I need you to know that your love means everything to me. I’ll forgive you, for everything, just tell me.”

At that moment, Sungjong would have given everything, pawned his soul, to express completely and fully what he actually felt for the elder. He wanted to tell him, no, show him, how much he meant to him, but he didn’t know the right words or the right expression. He could talk about it all day without getting to the point. That would be meaningless. So instead, he said it simply, as simple as it could get.

“I love you.”

Something stirred behind Myungsoo’s eyes as he stared at him. It was like the stars were coming to life in his pupil. His lips parted as if he was going to say something but no sound escaped his mouth – he was choked up.

Sungjong himself didn’t understand the different sensations parading through his body; he didn’t know why his cheeks and hands felt warm or why his head felt light. But he did know that he was ready to spend an eternity with Myungsoo, if the elder would have him.

“And I can never leave you again; I can’t live with myself if I hurt you one more time.”

Myungsoo’s smile was soft like snowflakes. His dimple appeared, deep and sweet. He hadn’t met this person in a long time. It was amazing that sweet, angelic Myungsoo lived on behind the tortured mask of pain and hatred.

I missed him.

“Thank you,” he said in honeyed tone, touching his cheek softly. “And I can tell you a hundred times if you want me to, I love you. You’re not the only one who should apologise - I’m sorry for everything I had done and I know this would sound strange and it’s no excuse for my actions, but everything I did was because I loved you.”

Tears stung his eyes as he struggled not to cry. It was as if he had died and gone to heaven but what could he have possibly done to deserve this kind of a heaven? Hands trembling, he gently caressed Myungsoo’s cheek, just to make sure he was real and not a figment of his imagination.

The elder closed his eyes, relishing the touch. His lashes brushed his cheek and he looked like he was in a peaceful slumber. Unable to stop himself, Sungjong leaned forward and pressed a kiss over his closed lid.

“That tickles,” Myungsoo’s voice was heavy with a chuckle. When he opened his eyes again he looked surprised.

“Sungjongie,” he breathed sharply, “why are you crying?”

His hand came up to his face, his thumb brushing the tears away.

But Sungjong’s apologies came non-stop, he couldn’t help it. “Based on the decisions I have made before, I know you’ll think that I’m a horrible person but I swear I’ve changed and-”

“I would never,” the elder cut across him, “because I realized how wrong it was of me to judge you on the decisions you made as a teenager - that doesn’t define you. At that time, you were still growing up, learning, making mistakes”

“Making mistakes sounds about right,” he muttered bitterly, but he was still relieved that Myungsoo was ready to forgive.

“That’s not such a bad thing. The more mistakes you make, the better you know not to make them again.” He paused, staring at him deeply. Biting on his bottom lip, he said, “I’m a grown-up now but I didn’t behave too maturely, did I? I’m ashamed to even think about all the things I did to hurt you…”

In a way, Sungjong felt he had deserved it, everything that Myungsoo had thrown his way. He couldn’t help but repeat himself, because he felt that it was the only way he could explain to the elder how sorry he was.

“I’m so, so sorry-”

Myungsoo suddenly gripped his hands tightly.

“Don't ever apologise to me again about it.” There was finality in his tone that surprised him.

“So are we going to pretend nothing happened?”

Sighing, Myungsoo brushed his fingers against his knuckles. The features on his face softened and he looked weary all of a sudden.

“No. There’s no denying that the worst has happened between us, but it’s over now. The worst is over, so we have nothing to fear. It only makes us stronger.”

Raising his hands to his mouth, he kissed his fingers, but then frowned.

“What happened? Why are there so many blisters on your hand?” he asked suddenly, his tone sharp.

Sungjong gaped, his tears drying up. They were the marks from Sunggyu’s cigarettes but he couldn’t tell him that. He couldn’t come up with another excuse either – if only he could think on his feet…

“Don’t tell me you were doing this to yourself-”

“No, no, no,” he quickly corrected him. “It’s not that I just…I got a new hair straightener.”

The other man looked at him weirdly. Desperate to get away from his questioning glance, he quickly clamped his lips onto Myungsoo’s, tasting him on his tongue. It had taken him by surprise no doubt and as the elder let out a light moan, Sungjong shut his eyes tightly. It was short and blissful, but he moved away quickly. They were under open air after all and anyone could catch a glimpse of them. He wasn’t worried about himself but the world still knew Myungsoo, who was somewhat of a celebrity, as an engaged man. That brought back the uneasy feeling from before.

“What-what about Miss Jiyeon?”

Myungsoo nodded gravely.

“Ah yes, I’ll have to talk to her.”

“Talk about what?” he asked tentatively. He didn’t want to seem like he was interfering in their personal business but it concerned him too, right?

There was a mysterious sparkle in his eyes.

“When I meet you tomorrow again, I’ll be a free man.” He pointed at the ring on his finger.

Did he just say what he thought he said? Was he going to call off the wedding? Did they really have a future together?

Sungjong’s heart expanded rapidly, filling his chest. He struggled to breathe; he was glad he hadn’t let out an excited squeak or done something equally embarrassing. This morning, when he had woken up to the thoughts of the man he loved, he couldn’t even dare to imagine a life together. Actually, he couldn’t see even a foot ahead – just because two people loved each other didn’t mean they would be allowed to.

But now…would he be as bold as to dream?

However, he wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with that. In all this, wasn’t Jiyeon just an innocent victim? She didn’t deserve this, did she? She was in love with Myungsoo, she was going to get married to the man he loved and have a fairytale life – who was he to ruin all that for her? He wanted to be with Myungsoo, more than anything else in the world, but he wasn’t sure he could just push Jiyeon out of the way. She didn’t deserve it.

Suddenly, he felt a vibration in his legs that had nothing to do with his trembling heart. He wondered if he was going into shock or something or having a seizure, when he realized that he had put his phone on vibration earlier. Extricating his hand from Myungsoo’s grip, he fished his phone out of his pocket.

“Who’s calling you this late?”

When he saw the caller ID, he picked up the call quickly, pressing a finger to his lips to show Myungsoo that he had to be quiet.

Lee Howon, the HR manager’s raspy voice met his ears.

“Sungjong, I saw your resignation letter today. I don’t understand, do you have another job opportunity? Why do you want to quit?” Rather than sounding annoyed, Lee Howon sounded worried. He wasn’t exactly shouting at him but there was urgency in his voice.

Sungjong had completely forgotten that he had sent his resignation letter to the HR department yesterday. With his head full of Myungsoo, he had lost track of everything else. The main reason he had wanted to leave was to get out of the chief editor’s way. Now that he patched up things with him however, he was unsure about this decision. He couldn’t just leave now to his parents’ place, not when he had promised to be by his side. Besides, with Myungsoo on his side, he wasn’t afraid of Sunggyu anymore, or anyone for that matter.

“Er…yeah about that I –er…”

“If you’re having any problems, you can tell me. Bullying or harassment is not tolerated at our workplace. Just let me know, it’ll be confidential. I can help you, you just have to ask.” The man’s voice was sincere and Sungjong suddenly felt bad for trying to quit again. Howon was a good person, willing to help him. He had convinced him before how important this job was for his career. For some reason, he had been very adamant that he didn’t leave. It could be because he was tired of finding an assistant PA for Myungsoo, but whatever the reason, he cared.

Maybe he should have taken his problems to him first before slamming a letter down on his desk.

“I just-it’s fine now actually-”

“Meet me tomorrow at 8.30, before you start working,” Howon said in a deep voice. ‘We’ll discuss about this. We’ll work out something so that you don’t have to quit.”

Sighing, he agreed, apologizing for causing trouble. Maybe he would have better luck explaining that he didn’t want to quit anymore face to face. When he’d hung up, Myungsoo looked at him in askance.

He explained everything, leaving out his frightening encounters with Sunggyu. He wasn’t exactly sure why he didn’t want to tell him about how Sunggyu treated him – he was pretending that it was a secret he had to keep from the elder. It was probably because he knew the two were good friends and he didn’t want to put a wedge between them. He tried not to think that he was scared of him. What was the worst Sunggyu could do to him anyway?

“Howon’s a good man,” Myungsoo commented, looking thoughtful. “I’m so glad I-we spoke out about our feelings. I shudder to think what would have happened if you actually left. Maybe we’d have never met again.” As he spoke, he shivered involuntarily, causing Sungjong to shift closer to him, placing an arm loosely around his waist.

“I thought I’d live the rest of my life as a farmer.”

As expected, Myungsoo chuckled, trying to stifle his laughter with the back of his hand.

“Hey, are you looking down on me?” he asked, slightly annoyed that the elder found it funny.

“No, not at all. I’m sure you’re used to hard, physical labor.”

Rolling his eyes, he sat up. Myungsoo’s hand was probably sore by now from supporting his head. Besides, it was getting late anyway.

“I should go home now,” he commented, preparing to get to his feet. His wrist was grabbed by Myungsoo, who pouted up at him.

“I was promised a kiss.”

“I don’t remember making any such promises.”

In truth, Sungjong would have loved to kiss him but they were in a wide open space where they could be seen by anyone. It was late and the last of the stragglers had disappeared, at least from their view. There was no sound except for their voices. Even then, he imagined invisible eyes on them. To be very specific, he imagined Sunggyu’s eyes, seeking him to punish him for spending time with Myungsoo. An involuntary quiver ran down his spine.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as Myungsoo got to his feet too, brushing off the grass off his clothes.

“Mmm,” the elder hummed, his hand snaking around his waist. “Let me take you home.”

---

Myungsoo sipped on his tea gently, waiting for the storm to pass. Strangely, he didn’t feel awful about being shouted at; the clamping headaches he would usually feel when Jiyeon was throwing one of her tantrums were missing. She might be in hysterics, grabbing at her hair and throwing cushions everywhere, but he felt oddly calm.

This morning, he had called her up, saying that they needed to discuss something important. He had offered to go to her house but she was apparently coming to visit him anyway, so he had let her. It was an important news and he wanted to break it to her as gently as possible, face-to-face.

He recalled proposing to her - it had taken him so long to finally say the words out aloud. He had spent so many restless nights, contemplating whether or not to get engaged. Compared to that, the break-up took nanoseconds. He got to the point right away, not missing a beat, after they had had breakfast together.

It was strangely easy for him to articulate something so momentous, so much so, that he wondered if he had been waiting to say it all along. Maybe from the moment he had asked her to marry him, he had been subconsciously trying to go back on his decision. The words came to naturally, the apology too quickly.

As expected, she didn’t take it easily. He would actually have been surprised if she had silently accepted his decision.

“What do you mean by this? It can’t be happening, this is not right! What do you mean by you love someone else?”

Patiently, he repeated for what seemed like the tenth time, “I told you I love Sungjong. Do you really want to marry me knowing that I love someone else? I’m sorry I didn’t say this before and I will do anything to make up for it, anything you want.”

“You have to marry me!” she screeched, staring down at him with wild eyes. “I don’t care about this Sungjong. I’ll make you forget all about her.”

“Him,” he quietly corrected her.

She paused for a moment, looking at him with a strange light in her eyes.

“Do you mean Sungjong as in your PA?”

“Assistant PA.”

She raged for another half an hour, trying to persuade, threaten, and finally curse at him. He didn’t lose his cool however. He knew he was in the wrong for pulling out of a commitment like this, so he tried his best to be civil with her, politely apologizing and explaining to her over and over again why he couldn’t go forward with the wedding.

Finally, she her heels ready to leave.

“Wait,” Myungsoo called her back, taking off the engagement ring she had given him from his finger. “This is yours I believe. Find someone worthy for this.”

Turning around, she grabbed the ring from his hand, causing her nails to scratch against his skin and sting. Then she took off her own engagement ring, throwing it across the room. It landed somewhere on the carpet.

“I’m going to get you back for this,” she uttered one last time. With that, she stormed off.

Myungsoo felt a weight sliding off his shoulder. Now he knew he was truly free. It hadn’t been easy, but he understood her. It wasn’t fair for him and he felt guilty about it but at least it was not like Jiyeon was in love with him. No matter what she said, he didn’t believe her.

He had actually found it out some time ago, completely by mistake, but he hadn't bothered about it since it wasn’t like they had been completely committed to each other. It had happened about 6 months ago when he had run into Jiyeon’s doctor. He knew the man - he was jovial and slightly eccentric. Something he had said made it clear to him that he wasn’t the only man in Jiyeon’s life.

After greetings and a few redundancies, he clapped him on the shoulders, saying with a wink, “You should really use protection you know, instead of making it hard for Jiyeon.”

“What do you mean?” he had asked, confused.

“Jiyeon wouldn’t have to get an abortion if you had thought about it and taken appropriate measures,” the doctor explained, punching him playfully on the shoulder.

Myungsoo had been shocked. Jiyeon had gotten pregnant but hadn’t even let him know. There could be one reason only – the baby hadn’t been his. There was no way. But he had just smiled at the doctor, not letting him in on the secret.

“Don’t worry, she asked for a contraceptive and it’s long-term, so it’ll be fine.”

It hadn’t bothered him a lot to be honest. He had no right when his feelings for her were very plain, so he hadn’t brought it up with her. Maybe subconsciously he had felt reassured that she had not committed herself to him completely. Because even then he had known he couldn’t give himself completely to her.

After that, he had heard snatches of rumors about Jiyeon with other men but he had paid no heed. For the most part, he had felt that it was none of his business.

Bending down, he picked up the ring. He didn’t know what to do with it. Maybe he would just return it. He didn’t want to see it ever again to be honest. Even now he shuddered, thinking about the big mistake he was going to make.

That reminds me, I should thank Munsoo and let him know the good news.

His brother’s contribution behind bringing them together was not deniable. From miles and miles away, he had reunited the two of them; he had helped Myungsoo to see the truth. It was still night in the States so he decided to call him later.

Right now, he had to go to the office, he was already late. But he had wanted to make sure that he was a single man before seeing Sungjong today. In fact, he wanted to propose to him properly, ask him to be his boyfriend.

It seemed like that that was already decided with the two of them proclaiming their love for each other, but he wanted to make a scene; he wanted it to be like a movie - something they could look back to with a smile on their faces. Even though he was nowhere near a teenager anymore, he wanted to enjoy a warm love, with 100 day anniversaries and cute dates, fancy restaurants, the works. He wanted to give Sungjong what his torrid affairs couldn’t.

He was about to pull on his pants when his phone rang. When he saw that it was Sunggyu calling him, he answered it. The man should already know that he would be late to work today since he had informed Woohyun first thing in the morning, asking him to let the others know. So that couldn’t be the reason why he was calling.

Did Jiyeon already tell him about the break-up?

The two had gotten close with the wedding preparations so maybe she had called him up. He hadn’t informed his best man yet that the wedding was off but he would have to soon. Sunggyu might be furious with him but he would have to understand his reasons.

“Where are you?” Sunggyu spoke rapidly, without greeting him properly. That was very unlike him.

“Home. I told Woohyun I’ll be late-”

“Good, stay at home.”

“What?”

“I said don’t come into the office right now. I’m on my way, I will meet you at your place,” he said hurriedly. From his voice, it was apparent that something was wrong.

“Wait, what’s going on?”

But the executive editor didn’t seem to hear him. He rattled on, making no sense. “I briefed everyone at the office, no one is to take any calls or talk to anyone. You don’t take any calls from anyone, you hear me,” he barked, then hung up abruptly.

What’s going on with him?

He had sounded frenzied. What could have made him so uneasy? There was nothing that could quite unsettle the executive editor so it was a bit worrisome. Frowning, he quickly typed the company’s name on the internet search engine for some answers.

It took less than a second for the results to load. The first article was actually about him, and it was labeled with ‘BREAKING’. The same had happened when he had first announced his engagement. The paparazzi couldn’t have already known that he had broken up with Jiyeon – she’d walked out of the house merely 15 minutes ago. With a feeling of foreboding, he clicked on it.

The article was headed with three pictures of him. But that was not all. He scrolled down to read the news.
 

Kim Myungsoo (30), engaged to Hallyu model Park Jiyeon, has been seen yesterday with a male employee of Star Magazine on what witnesses described as a ‘romantic dinner’. We contacted Star Magazine and found out that the employee in question is Lee Sungjong, the chief editor’s assistant secretary. With the hyped wedding around the corner, Kim has been found cheating on his longtime girlfriend with a man. It is of little use to say that this might be the most shocking news revealed by the fashion industry this year.

So is the wedding with park Jiyeon a big setup to hide the fact that the fashion heartthrob is actually gay? An eye witness, present at the restaurant where Kim and his ‘boyfriend’ spent over two hours yesterday, explained that Lee Sungjong is an attractive individual and seemed to be flirting with the chief editor. The eyewitness was also able to secretly capture some pictures of the two of them on the date. However, Star Magazine has offered no explanation and declined to comment until further notice.

The young editor, who had achieved fame at a reasonably young age, is well known for being closed off but who knew he had such a surprise for us in his closet?

The pictures were from the restaurant they had been to last night. They looked like they had been taken from hidden angles. The blonde waitresses face flashed before his eyes - she had recognised him after all. Maybe she was the one who had taken the pictures and tipped off the reporter.

He felt a stone settle in his stomach.

Poor Sungjong. I should have been more careful.

At the thought of Sungjong, he felt concerned and immediately called him, but the younger wasn’t answering his phone. His apprehension grew so he tried calling Woohyun, but the PA didn’t answer either. All he could do was to send the younger texts, telling him to call him back and wait anxiously for Sunggyu.

This is bad, he thought as his phone rang, the CEO’s number flashing on the screen. Sunggyu had told him not to pick up calls so he threw his phone on his bed. He was in no mood to deal with people anyway.

He wondered who had the reporters used to confirm Sungjong’s identity – it had to be someone at his office. Due to the bad camera angles, anyone who didn’t know Sungjong well would be unable to recognize him in the pictures. Now that the media knew his name and had his picture, how long would it take them to find his address and harass him?

When Sunggyu arrived, he went down to the living room to meet him. The man took one look at him and commented, “I see you have read.”

“Yeah I-”

“Explain,” he said calmly, sitting on a sofa and crossing his legs. He rested his elbow on the arm of the sofa, tilting his head to one side, wearing a grim expression on his face. He had regained his composure it seemed; his eyes were almost expressionless and his tone unhurried.

Taking a deep breath, Myungsoo explained all that had happened starting from Monday. The more his friend heard, the more he got visibly angry, his nostrils flaring and his eyes narrowing. But he didn’t interrupt him.

Once he was done, Sunggyu said in a dangerously low voice, “Are you kidding me? Do you know what you’re playing with here?”

“Look, it’s my decision-”

“The stock prices of Star went down by 0.03% this morning. Let time pass, it will fall even lower. The CEO’s livid. Our PR team is struggling to contain the news. You’re not affecting yourself here Myungsoo, you’re affecting everyone around you.”

The look in his eyes was fierce, very different from what he was usually used to. He felt like a child being lectured to. Truthfully, he had never been exposed to this side of Sunggyu. He had always respected his decisions, making suggestions in a low, persuasive voice. But right now, it looked like he was ready to force his decision on him.

He understood the repercussions – it was kind of sick how his personal life changed the way the company’s stocks moved – but there was nothing he could do about it. That was how the world worked.

I’m not even on the magazines, why does it matter to people who I am dating?

It was true that he could become the most hated chief editor of Star Magazine, but that didn’t mean he had to do what people expected him to do.

“I will talk to the CEO,” he assured his friend. He was going to take things in his own hands. It wasn’t fair that he had Sunggyu running the errands for him. It was his fault that this scandal had happened, he was going to take responsibility for it.

For the first time, Sunggyu betrayed a hint of annoyance.

“What are you going to tell him? He won’t understand, all he understands is money. And you’re sending his money down the drain. This wedding is good publicity for us. And you know we need publicity. You know we’re competing with Royals – they’re trying to overthrow us and you just handed them the key.” Fishing in his pocket, he brought out what looked like a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He had never seen Sunggyu smoke; he didn’t even know the man smoked. But surprising him, he lit a stick and put it between his lips. Blowing out a ring of smoke, he continued. “A lot is at stake here Myungsoo, it’s not child’s play. The wedding has to go on.”

“We can beat Royals with our products instead of some cheap gossip, you know. This is a competition between two rival fashion magazines, not gossip magazines.”

Sunggyu clicked his tongue impatiently.

“Oh, grow up,” he scoffed, his voice condescending. “This is not about just fashion. You’re naïve enough to believe that the quality of our products gives us an edge but it’s a lot more work than that.” He took a long drag, staring at him with hard eyes.

Myungsoo was at a loss – was this really the Sunggyu he knew and trusted? Coldness seemed to be emanating from the man at the moment. Where was the sincere, dependable man he had befriended?

“You focus on the quality, and I take care of the rest. You have no idea how much manipulation it takes.”

“Manipulation?” Myungsoo was shocked. He ran a completely transparent company; Star Magazine was the best fashion magazine out there because of the quality of their magazines. They were leaders in the world of fashion – Sunggyu couldn’t just deny that. “Are you telling me I do nothing as the chief editor?”

Sunggyu smiled crookedly.

“Of course you do, there’s no denying you rebranded the magazine unlike the idiot before you,” he waved his hand dismissively, taking another drag of his cigarette. Myungsoo had half a mind to tell him to stop smoking but he was too shocked by the way he had referred to the former chief editor of Star. He was the one who had made Sunggyu an executive editor and Myungsoo had seen that the two of them were in good terms. “But you need to get the word out there, pay the right kind of journalists, make the right kind of noise. That’s where I come in.”

“That’s the PR team’s job,” Myungsoo said coldly. “I want you to do your job only.” He couldn’t believe he was actually having this conversation with his trusted advisor. But he would not let Sunggyu control this conversation – he had proved to be a good leader. And he was the superior here, whether Sunggyu liked it or not.

His hardened gaze seemed to have worked as Sunggyu looked away, staring at the cigarette in his hand thoughtfully. After a few seconds, he got up from his seat, crushing the lit end of the cigarette on the coffee table. Not being able to find an ashtray, he pocketed the white stick and returned to his seat.

Crossing his arms across his chest, he said, “You worked hard for this company, you gave your all to Star. Why did you work so hard if it means nothing to you at all? Why work hard when you’re content watching it fall apart?”

Myungsoo almost flinched – he had struck at the right spot, knowing where he was weak. The magazine had meant everything to him before Sungjong came along. He couldn’t now just drop it on its back and leave like he didn’t care.

“What do you want me to do?” he finally asked, defeated. He understood the importance of this – he couldn’t abandon ship at the last moment. He had worked hard to advance the magazine. It had been his life when he had lost all purpose in life.

“The wedding has to go on,” Sunggyu announced firmly. “Tell Jiyeon whatever you have to, but the wedding must happen.”

He wondered if Jiyeon agree to a faux wedding. But even more importantly, could he go along with it? And what about Sungjong, would he understand? Because there was no way he could just forget Sungjong now and live a life with Jiyeon. Nothing, no one, could make him forget Sungjong.

“Myungsoo, what are you thinking? Sungjong is just playing you, you know that right? That’s what he does. You can ask any of the 100 people he’s dated in the past.” Sunggyu’s voice was earnest as he leaned forward, appealing to him desperately. His arrogance had left and it seemed like he was actually thinking about the magazine. If there had been any other way, Sunggyu would have been able to come up with an idea. But he himself was adamant that getting married was the only way to save Star.

Is this really worth it?

Sungjong was the love of his life, but Star had been his baby, his child. Forced to choose between the two of them was the worst thing that had ever happened to him, including the rejection that crushed his heart eight years ago.

“Right,” he said, making up his mind. “If it’s a wedding they want, it’s a wedding they will get, but nothing more.”